FOLLOW THE CLUES · A DISCOVER GUIDE
Clever mysteries
Choose between Knives Out, Poker Face, Odd Taxi, and The Thursday Murder Club by puzzle style, pace, and how much you want to solve versus enjoy watching it unfold.
A good mystery gives you a reason to pay attention. The four works here each do that differently: a whodunit film built for a group watch, a series that shows you the crime first, an anime that hides its puzzle inside ordinary conversations, and a novel about friends who solve cases together. You won't need a notebook for any of them, but each pays off if you notice things.
Start with what you enjoy about mysteries. If it is the reveal, start with Knives Out. If it is watching a clever person close in, try Poker Face. If you like a puzzle that builds slowly from scattered pieces, Odd Taxi is the one. If you are there for the characters as much as the crime, The Thursday Murder Club will suit you.
A PLACE TO START
Which one fits your time and mood?
They are all mysteries, but the puzzles work differently. None of the descriptions below gives away a solution.
| Pick | Mood & pace | Commitment | Choose it when | Consider first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knives OutMovie | A brisk, twisting whodunit with plenty of comedy | One film with a complete solution | A shared movie night where everyone guesses along | Broad comic characters; a death and family cruelty drive the plot |
| Poker FaceTV show | One case per episode, shown first and then solved | An episodic series; most episodes stand alone | Watching a culprit get caught when you already know who did it | Violence and grim situations sit under a playful tone |
| Odd TaxiAnime | Slow-building conversations that lock together over the series | One short series, best watched in order | A patient puzzle where small details pay off much later | Animal character designs hide mature themes; early episodes feel unconnected |
| The Thursday Murder ClubBook | Light, witty chapters that shift between characters | A novel, the first in a series | Cozy crime where friendship is as important as the case | Cozier than most crime fiction, but still about murder, grief, and illness |
Whodunit or howcatchem?
Knives Out and Poker Face come from the same filmmaker, Rian Johnson, but they ask different questions. Knives Out is a classic whodunit: everyone has a motive, and the pleasure is in the moment the story reveals how wrong you were. Poker Face is a howcatchem in the tradition of Columbo. Each episode shows the crime first, so the tension comes from watching the detective notice what the culprit missed.
If you tend to read the last page of a mystery first, Poker Face may suit you better, because it removes the guessing and keeps the cleverness. If you love trying to beat the detective, Knives Out gives you a fair chance and a satisfying explanation at the end.
Fast puzzles and slow ones
Odd Taxi works on a much longer fuse. Its early episodes feel like a series of strange, funny conversations between a taxi driver and his passengers. Only gradually do you realize that many of those conversations connect, and that small details from the first episodes matter. It is the best pick here for viewers who like being surprised by how a story was put together.
The Thursday Murder Club sits between the two speeds. Each chapter moves quickly, but the investigation unfolds over the whole book, with several threads running at once. Its narrators include the investigators themselves, which lets you see how differently each of them thinks.
Enjoying a mystery without spoiling it
Mysteries are easy to spoil, so a small rule helps: avoid reading episode summaries or reviews until you have finished. Odd Taxi in particular is best watched without knowing anything beyond its premise, because so much of its pleasure is in how pieces fall into place.
If you want something to do while you watch or read, write down the one detail that seemed odd at the time. It is a simple habit that makes reveals more satisfying, whether you were right or not. And if you are watching with friends, Knives Out is ideal for pausing halfway to compare theories.
LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER
Four ways into the idea
01 / Movie
Knives Out
A lavish family gathering gives this whodunit plenty of motives, and the fun is watching the story keep revising what you thought you knew. Watch it with someone. You'll be arguing about suspects well before the reveal.
Knives Out follows detective Benoit Blanc as he investigates the death of a wealthy crime novelist after his birthday party, surrounded by a family with plenty to hide. The film is funny and quick, and it plays fair with the audience in a way that makes the solution feel earned.
It is the best choice for a group, because everyone can guess along and the ending gives you something to argue about. If you have already seen it, its sequels continue Blanc's cases with new casts and settings.
Contains a death, family cruelty and some broad comic caricature, though the tone stays light.
Source: Independent Cinema Office: Knives Out ↓02 / TV show
Poker Face
Each episode shows you the culprit early, and the pleasure is in how its observant lead will prove it. You get one satisfying case at a time, with a longer storyline running lightly underneath.
Poker Face follows Charlie Cale, who can tell when someone is lying, as she travels from place to place and keeps stumbling into crimes. Each episode starts by showing you the crime, then follows Charlie as she works out what happened.
Treat it like a short story collection. Most episodes stand alone, with a light ongoing thread, so you can stop after one or two without losing track. It is a good fit for a weeknight when a full film is too much.
A crime series with violence and some grim circumstances, even when its style is playful.
Source: Peacock: Poker Face (US) ↓03 / Anime
Odd Taxi
A taxi driver's passengers seem unrelated, and slowly turn out to be pieces of one tightly built mystery. Give it a few episodes to settle into its odd, talky rhythm. The details it plants early are why it is on this list.
Odd Taxi follows Odokawa, a taciturn taxi driver whose passengers turn out to be connected to a missing person case. Its animal characters and dry humor make it look lighter than it is. Underneath, it is a carefully constructed crime story about loneliness, money, and the strange ways city lives overlap.
Give it at least three episodes before deciding. The early conversations can feel like they are going nowhere, and that is part of the design. Viewers who stay usually find the payoff worth the patience.
Despite its animal character designs, it deals with crime, isolation, and mature themes.
Source: Odd Taxi: official anime site (Japanese) ↓04 / Book
The Thursday Murder Club
Four friends in a retirement village have a hobby of looking into old cases, until they find themselves with a live one. The best thing about it is the group: people who have known each other a long time and can still surprise one another.
The Thursday Murder Club follows four friends in a retirement village who meet each week to look at unsolved cases, until a real murder happens nearby. The book's warmth comes from the group: their competence, their banter, and their frank conversations about age and loss.
It is the most social pick in this trail and the gentlest in tone. If you enjoy it, there are several follow-up novels, so it can become a longer reading habit. Choose another option if you want a darker or more tightly plotted puzzle.
The tone is warm and witty, but there is murder, grief and illness in it, and they carry real weight.
Source: Penguin: The Thursday Murder Club ↓Take something with you
Which clue mattered more for where it appeared than for what it was?
Keep a short note about what drew you in and whether it suited the time you had. You do not need to finish the whole list; the note will help more next time you pick.
Sources & editorial method
Prepared by OmniTrackr and reviewed by the site owner before publishing. Factual context was checked against the official sources below; comparisons, mood descriptions, and suggested starting points are editorial interpretations.
Reading and game time varies by person; suggested stopping points are places to begin and say nothing about how long a title takes to finish. Source links are informational, not affiliate links. Availability varies by region.
First published September 8, 2026. Guide expanded and sources checked October 16, 2026. Send a correction · Editorial standards
- Independent Cinema Office: Knives Out ↗
Film identification, director, running time, and premise of Benoit Blanc's investigation.
- Peacock: Poker Face (US) ↗
Series overview and lead character; availability varies by region.
- Odd Taxi: official anime site (Japanese) ↗
Official identification of the TV anime series.
- Penguin: The Thursday Murder Club ↗
Publisher's identification of the novel, its author, and its retirement-village premise.
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